Apollo's Bloghttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/
Dark Side of the Sunen-usCopyright 2013Mon, 14 Jan 2013 21:51:27 -0800Apache Roller (incubating) 4.0 (20071120033321:dave)http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/m_is_for_musicM is for... MusicApollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/m_is_for_music
Sat, 11 Sep 2010 02:24:24 -0700Alphabeticity
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-m.png" /></p>
<p>The thirteenth in the alphabetical series. This post browses through some of my favorite music!</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-m.png" /></p>
<p>Here follows a quick jaunt through some pieces of music from the past that I enjoy listening to! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to do two things: <br/>
1. Listen to one piece of music from my list that you haven't heard before. <br/>
2. Post a list here of a few of your own favorites so that I can listen to at least one that I haven't heard before.</p>
<p>1630 Gregorio Allegri - Miserere mei Deus<br/>
1689 Henry Purcell - Dido and Aeneas <br/>
1721 J S Bach - Brandenburg Concerti <br/>
1778 W A Mozart - Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra<br/>
1801 Beethoven - Piano Sonata no 12 in A flat<br/>
1869 Alexander Borodin - Prince Igor <br/>
1872 Saint-Saens - Danse Macabre <br/>
1874 Giuseppe Verdi - Requiem<br/>
1884 Edvard Grieg - Holberg Suite<br/>
1888 Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade<br/>
1901 Sergei Rachmaninoff - Piano Concert no. 2<br/>
1916 Gustav Holst - The Planets suite<br/>
1924 George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue<br/>
1939 Glenn Miller - In The Mood<br/>
1942 Aaron Copland - Rodeo<br/>
1959 Dave Brubeck - Take Five<br/>
1965 Simon and Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence<br/>
1966 The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations<br/>
1967 Velvet Underground - Venus in Furs<br/>
1969 The Doors - The Soft Parade (the song)<br/>
1971 David Bowie - Life on Mars<br/>
1977 Buzzcocks - What do I get?<br/>
1979 Blondie - Heart of Glass<br/>
1980 The Jam - Going Underground<br/>
1981 The Specials - Ghost Town<br/>
1981 The Stranglers - Golden Brown<br/>
1982 Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun<br/>
1983 The Cure - The Lovecats<br/>
1984 The Psychedelic Furs - Heaven<br/>
1985 Shop Assistants - All Day Long<br/>
1986 REM - Flowers of Guatemala (on Life's Rich Pageant)<br/>
1986 The Housemartins - Happy Hour<br/>
1987 Dash Rip Rock - Pack Your Bags<br/>
1987 10,000 Maniacs - Verdi Cries<br/>
1987 The Triffids - Blinder By The Hour<br/>
1989 B52s - Love Shack<br/>
1990 Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence<br/>
1991 Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit<br/>
1993 Michael Jackson - Will You Be There?<br/>
1994 Kylie Minogue - Confide in Me<br/>
1994 Seal - Kiss from a Rose<br/>
1995 Ash - Girl from Mars<br/>
1996 The Prodigy - Firestarter<br/>
1996 Chemical Brothers - Setting Sun<br/>
1997 The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony<br/>
1998 Barenaked Ladies - One Week<br/>
1998 Madonna - Ray of Light<br/>
1999 Fatboy Slim - Praise You<br/>
1999 Shanks & Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate<br/>
2000 Spilller ft Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Groovejet (if this ain't love)<br/>
2000 Eminem - The Real Slim Shady<br/>
2000 Shaggy ft RikRok - It Wasn't Me<br/>
2000 The Dandy Warhols - Get Off<br/>
2002 X-Press 2 ft David Byrne - Lazy<br/>
2002 Sugababes - Freak like me<br/>
2002 The Bees (The Band of Bees) - A Minha Menina<br/>
2003 Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice<br/>
2003 No Doubt - Don't Speak<br/>
2004 Michael Andrews ft Gary Jules - Mad World<br/>
2006 Muse - Supermassive Black Hole<br/>
2006 Ok Go - Here It Goes Again<br/>
2007 Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby<br/>
2007 Airiel - Sugar Crystals<br/>
2008 Lady Gaga - Poker Face<br/>
2009 Ke$ha - TiK ToK </p>
<p>Over to you, pirates!</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/an_apollogyAn ApollogyApollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/an_apollogy
Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:01:36 -0700OMbrella-ella-ella
<p>So, while cleaning out some of the spam comments, I seem to have inadvertently cleared a load of your own comments too! </p>
<p>I am very sorry. You may now add comments suggesting what my punishment should be. If it's good enough, I might even do it! :D</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/l_is_for_listsL is for... ListsApollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/l_is_for_lists
Wed, 2 Sep 2009 13:49:53 -0700Alphabeticity
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/L.jpg" /></p>
<p>The twelfth in the alphabetical series. This post is a set of lists. Of things. And stuff.</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/L.jpg" /></p>
<p><h2>Most Commonly Purchased Clothing</h2><br/>
<i>(all oceans, in terms of quantity purchased, July 2009)</i><br/>
Male hat: 1. Bandana. 2. Musketeer hat.<br/>
Male torso: 1. Plain shirt. 2. Striped shirt.<br/>
Male legs: 1. Loose pants with sash. 2. Stripey knickers.<br/>
Male feet: 1. Boots. 2. Fancy boots. <br/>
Female hat: 1. Bandana. 2. Widebrimmed hat. <br/>
Female torso: 1. Plain shirt. 2. Striped shirt. <br/>
Female legs: 1. Long dress bottom. 2. Flare pants.<br/>
Female feet: 1. Boots. 2. Fancy boots.</p>
<p><h2>OceanMasters Who I Find To Be Commendably Huggy:</h2><br/>
* Aphrodite<br/>
* Artemis<br/>
* Cronus<br/>
* Eurydice<br/>
* Gaea<br/>
* Galene<br/>
* Hephaestus<br/>
* Hera<br/>
* Thalia</p>
<p><h2>OceanMasters Who Call Me A Dirty Hippy For Hugging People So Much:</h2><br/>
* Nemesis <i>(she teases because she loves)</i></p>
<p><h2>OceanMasters Most Likely To Tackle People Just For Giggles:</h2><br/>
* Nemesis <i>("Tackling != hugging. Tackling = AWESOME")</i></p>
<p><h2>OceanMasters Most Likely To Be Mean To People Just For Giggles:</h2><br/>
* [REDACTED]</p>
<p><h2>Some Of The Players I'd Like To Have As Skype Contacts:</h2><br/>
* [REDACTED] <br/>
No, really. I had a list of players here. These were mostly players involved in events in some way. I didn't get permission from any of them to post their names, so I hope I didn't cause any of them any embarrassment!</p>
<p><h2>Number Of Ships Per Ocean:</h2><br/>
<i>(not including Dread Ringer ships, at 31st July 2009)</i><br/>
* Midnight 68,369<br/>
* Cobalt 39,339<br/>
* Viridian 50,797<br/>
* Sage 43,802<br/>
* Hunter 29,437<br/>
* Malachite 8,980<br/>
* Opal 5,608<br/>
* Jade 412<br/>
* Crimson 976</p>
<p><h2>Number Of Ships Per Type:</h2><br/>
<i>(for above oceans, not including Dread Ringer ships, at 31st July 2009)</i><br/>
* Sloop 138,087<br/>
* Dhow 7,248<br/>
* Cutter 24,086<br/>
* Longship 5,270<br/>
* Baghlah 6,166<br/>
* Merchant brig 11,031<br/>
* War brig 29,343<br/>
* Merchant galleon 2,749<br/>
* Xebec 1,890<br/>
* War frigate 18,478<br/>
* Grand frigate 3,372</p>
<p><h2>A Few Things You May Not Know: </h2><br/>
* We do not see the "feedback" section on petitions - this is for review purposes not for support purposes, so the OM dealing with your petition does not see any information you put there<br/>
* For the purposes of greeter eligibility, we can remove the effects of a blackspot, but not the effects of a suspension<br/>
* When doing a duty shift, we can be covering anything from 2 oceans to 7 oceans. <br/>
* Some of us enjoy working during the day, some of us prefer to work at night<br/>
* There are a number of OM children<br/>
* We can whisk to a location (e.g. a ship) by name, but we can't specify which location if there are duplicate names. So if we whisk onto a ship, shout OOPS and whisk off again, it's likely that we were heading for a ship of duplicate name!<br/>
* The oceans tend to have different characters and tone. Given a set of petitions and complaints with the ocean stripped off, we could probably have a good guess at which ocean they were from. This works to the extent that we get a kind of out-of-phase feeling when someone jumps onto a different ocean to petition about something...<br/>
* We will always make changes to crew names, flag names, shoppe names, etc, to correct errors of spelling, punctuation or capitalizaton - free of charge<br/>
* We have OceanMasters working in 8 different time zones</p>
<p><h2>Some Ringer Googlisms</h2><br/>
* Artemis is extraordinary to begin with<br/>
* Demeter is one kitten I would not like to get into a fight with<br/>
* Hermes is fully featured but simple to use<br/>
* Mnemosyne is built for long range missions<br/>
* Castor is not a legume<br/>
* Endymion is a romp<br/>
* Bia is not a federal court<br/>
* Eurydice is simply one aspect of the affair<br/>
* Hypnos is the sweetest little parakeet ever<br/>
* Nemesis is nothing like the poetry of Frank o'Hara<br/>
* Prometheus is publicly traded<br/>
* Apollo is like a cosmic cheerleader<br/>
* Glaucus is a distinct species<br/>
* Aphrodite is king of the beats<br/>
* Hephaestus is an obedient but unwilling servant<br/>
* Thalia is doing everything possible to cross over into the American market<br/>
* Cronus is watching you<br/>
* Gaea is one of the biggest wrestling organizations in Japan and has very good reputation<br/>
* Galene is the toughest hike I have done in my life<br/>
* Hera is still as shy as she used to be<br/>
* Atropos is a babe<br/>
* Clotho is ready to cut it<br/>
* Cephalopod is not completely improbable<br/>
* Arcturus is slightly orange in color<br/>
* Cleaver is campaigning to rename the eggplant</p>
<p><h2>Love, Loathe, Laugh</h2><br/>
<b>Bisquick</b> of Midnight discussses pieces to play in band, on bassoon<br/>
* Love: Marche des Parachutistes Belges (March of the Belgian Paratroopers) - Pierre Leemans<br/>
* Loathe: Amazing Grace - Frank Ticheli<br/>
* Laugh: Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion - PDQ Bach<br/>
<b>Randompanzy</b> of Viridian discusses Atlantis<br/>
* Love: Treasure Haul<br/>
* Loathe: Can't ride on the sea monsters <br/>
* Laugh: Hera says,"Are you porting?"<br/>
<b>Simmins</b> of Midnight discusses OMs<br/>
* Love: The intense love story between Hera and Cronus. It's dramatic enough for a movie!<br/>
* Loathe: OMs always hiding aboard a ported ship when online (well, most of the time). /me wants to PvP them!<br/>
* Laugh: OMs' booches. Breaking game mechanics, accidental broadcasts, the usual <br/>
<b>Omauwu</b> on Viridian (EmberLeo) discusses actual hats they have worn<br/>
* Love: Picture This: a high-quality black wool top hat adorned with purple, white, and grey feathers, a purple scarf, real bones, and a mardi gras mask. It's just the kind of hat that screams "bring me a cigar and a bottle of rum!" True, I only get to wear it when I'm, y'know, possed by a voodoo death god, but still...<br/>
* Loathe: It's kind of like a nurse's hat, only less symbolic. The green cloth isn't so bad, and the yellow trim is merely annoying but the shape is the single most unflattering object I've ever had to carry on my head. It's like somebody took a traffic cone, chopped off a middle section, covered it in brocade, and tied it to my head. The saving grace is that the eclesiastical robes that go with it are absoloutely gorgeous.<br/>
* Laugh: Three words: Golden. Glittery. Cowgirl. Yes, seriously - dance recitals are a goldmine of truly faaabulous hats, but this is hands down the most faaabulous hat I have ever been required to wear. It lives in the back of my car just waiting for me to find a queen faaabulous enough to get away with wearing it again.<br/>
<b>Irig</b> of Viridian discusses tropical fruit<br/>
* Love: Guava. It is a fun word to growl. The juice is divine perfume. Absolutely gorgeous plant. And, if I bothered, it could be grown locally.<br/>
* Loathe: Durian. Alien eggs or our chitinous over-insect lords discarded armor pods? You tell me? I am just extremely glad the local market only stocks frozen whole durians, which I swear I can still smell.<br/>
* Laugh: Banana. The name so easy to stick into almost any song, although the muppet mah na man na is a favorite. The shape, good for playing phone to playing innuendo, a shape for all ages! The color, just silly bright. And when peeled, frozen and dipped in chocolate, the treat is locally called 'monkey tails'. Even sillier! I am playing phone with my monkey tail. Do do dododo Monkey Tail Do dodo do!</p>
<p><h2>Top 15 Most Used Portrait Backgrounds</h2><br/>
<i>(during July 2009, not including Ice)</i><br/>
1. Sandy (the free one - around 40 times more frequent than next nearest!)<br/>
2. Kirppu's Garden Party<br/>
3. Bootlegpatch's Twilight Garden<br/>
4. Ship deck<br/>
5. Sharktail's Blooming Meadow<br/>
6. Romantic Sunset<br/>
7. Palm Tree<br/>
8. Ocean View<br/>
9. Cove<br/>
10. Journey to Atlantis<br/>
11. Beach Ship<br/>
12. Nordenx's God Games<br/>
13. Clear Skies<br/>
14. Iron Monger<br/>
15. Beach </p>
<p><h2>Class of 2009 YearBook vote results</h2><br/>
Most likely to succeed: Prometheus<br/>
Most likely to drink paint: Prometheus<br/>
Class clown: Prometheus<br/>
Best smile: Prometheus<br/>
Best dressed: Prometheus<br/>
Best hair: Prometheus<br/>
Best muttonchops: Prometheus<br/>
Best dancer: Prometheus<br/>
Prom King: Prometheus<br/>
Prom Queen: Prometheus<br/>
Cutest couple: Prometheus and Prometheus</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/ol%C3%A1_de_portugalOlá de Portugal!Apollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/ol%C3%A1_de_portugal
Fri, 7 Aug 2009 14:05:02 -0700OMbrella-ella-ella
<p>Alas, I still haven't put together "L is for... Lists"! I've made outstanding progress, though - I made the "L" image for the post, so it's all going splendidly. Meanwhile, outside, I'm doing a really excellent job on the sun - it appears to be hot and bright! I don't know if I can take partial credit for the sky, which is beautifully bronze (well, ok, dark blue) with occasional fluffy clouds to remind me what it might be like at home. The palm trees are nicely sculpted and pose nonchalantly around the swimming pools. </p>
<p><p>I can't quite keep away from Puzzle Pirates, even while I'm on vacation. Thanks to the wonders of wireless internet, I've been able to deliver some prizes, check the forums, answer PMs and emails. The difference is that during vacation time I do it because I want to, rather than because I have to. *grins* I must also get my Seal o' Piracy - 'twould be a shame to miss out on that just because I can't fit a few swordfights into my busy schedule. </p>
<p>11:00 Wake up<br/>
11:05 Stagger out to swimming pool and fall in<br/>
11:06 Attempt to climb on inflatable pool raft and fall in<br/>
11:07 Repeat<br/>
11:08 And again<br/>
11:09 Enough exercise for today; fall out<br/>
11:10 Apply sun cream <br/>
11:12 Arrange lounger, towel, book, drinks<br/>
11:13 Aaaaaaand... rest<br/>
18:55 Free time<br/>
19:00 Dinner<br/>
21:00 Bed</p>
<p>As you can see, there's a good five minutes in my action-packed day when I can be playing Puzzle Pirates, and I'll be sure to make good use of them!</p>
<p>Weather is beautiful - wish you were here!</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/epic_chantyEpic Chanty!Apollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/epic_chanty
Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:20:13 -0700OMbrella-ella-ellaevents
<p>I'm posting this as something of a deadline reminder. I set you all the fun and awesome task of creating together an updated Epic Chanty, a song in poetic form marking ths history of the game since the move from Azure Ocean to Midnight Ocean. Verses can cover any game development, such as new puzzles, new oceans, new features - pets, housing, sea monster hunts, Brigand Kings, etc. The aim is to construct a single Chanty out of the contributions made, making the final product a collaborative effort! And anyone whose work contributes to the final Chanty will get a nice trinket and (if they choose) a real-life Y!PP item as well. </p>
<p>The event thread, with all the rules and instructions, is <a href="http://forums.puzzlepirates.com/community/mvnforum/viewthread?thread=126794">here</a>, and there's also a thread for theme suggestions <a href="http://forums.puzzlepirates.com/community/mvnforum/viewthread?thread=126791">here</a> if you want to write something but are not sure what to write about!</p>
<p>The event does require a very specific meter for the verses you enter, so make sure to read the event thread to get that right. I would like to mention, to reassure you, that I set a mini-Epic Chanty (can you have a mini-Epic?!) challenge as part of the Easter Easel contest, and given only 24 hours, 60 people managed to put entries in, and most of them managed the rhyme and meter scheme just fine. (I love my doodlers - they can do ANYTHING!)</p>
<p>The deadline for the Epic Chanty event is the end of April 30th, so take a look now and see if you'd like to write a part of our history!</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/k_is_for_knowing_meK is for... Knowing me, knowing you (ah-haa)Apollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/k_is_for_knowing_me
Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:47:59 -0700Alphabeticity
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/k.png" /></p>
<p>The eleventh in the alphabetical series. This post provides a set of questions asked by players, along with tidbits of information about those players!</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/k.png" /></p>
<p><p>Back in November, with my next blog post expected imminently, I asked for questions from you for me to answer. I exacted payment, though - if you wanted me to answer your question, you also had to provide information about yourself for me to include in the post. Ill-health, surgery and various other events intervened, and the blog post did not get finished. Until now. So, in the hopes that nothing you told me then is deeply embarrassing now, I present my K entry - Knowing Me, Knowing You. </p>
<p><h2>Shannal (Midnight) </h2><br/>
<p><em>Knowing Me: <br/>
<p>What are your thoughts on the colonization of Midsummer? (with some subsidiary questions that I have tried to address in my response) </em><br/>
I was sad to see it chosen for blockading - it is one of the islands that seemed special and 'entire of itself'. Some islands cry out for buildings and bustle, but even if it's strange to apply to an island in an online game, Midsummer was a little center of spirituality for me! I don't think it's a step forwards or backwards for Midnight, but I think it's a reminder that different people value different things. <br/>
<p><em>Knowing You</em>:<br/>
<p>Shannal says "I'm 23 and I have to say that I'm surprised I passed Kindergarten. I still can't tie my shoes. I will often retie them up to 5 times in an hour because they just come undone. There are times when I ask a friend to tie them for me, just so that I know they'll stay done up."<br/>
<p>We say: That's why God invented Velcro!</p>
<p><h2>Domokun (Sage) asked a selection of K questions!</h2><br/>
<p><em>Knowing me:<br/>
<p>Keeping Quiet - What has been the most exciting part about knowing 'whats coming up'? Have you ever let something slip that you shouldn't have?</em><br/>
<p>I think so far the update I was most excited about was Rumble. I bounced for days.<br/>
I don't think I've let things slip that I shouldn't have, although once I thought I had, when my player character gave an answer to something on greeter chat that I realized in retrospect might not be public domain - I underestimated the power of the YPPedia, though - somebody else answered just after me and included the YPPedia link where the information was! (On that subject, I once gave an answer on greeter chat as my player, and was flatly contradicted by another greeter - the question was about petitioning OMs... I didn't bother to argue it. I remember which player it was, but I'll not let the name slip. *grins*)<br/>
<p><em>Kindness - Other than gifts in shacks upon prize-giving, which of course is now defunct, do you have any examples of true kindness from players?</em><br/>
<p>Actually, there are lots. Some of them unfortunately turn into tales of scamming, but there are also player-run events that are pretty much entirely philanthropic (like the memorization events, whisking parties, prize giveaway events at holiday time, etc), there are greeters who go well beyond normal expectations to help out new players, there are tales of great sportsmanship and generosity of spirit, there are doubloon and subscription gifts from friends (and even strangers) to people who need a helping hand. <br/>
<p><em>Knick-knacks - Do you keep anything with Apollo or Sun, trinkets or some such? Something that has sentimental value?</em> <p>Every now and again, a player gives me a trinket with a message on - I've not got many, but those I do have, I always have with me, and I'd never get rid of them. Once I got a teddy bear from a player with a kind message on it, and I had it displayed and loved it, and I was quite hurt when he came back later and said that he'd just found out I could make teddy bears myself so could he please have the one he gave me back! I gave it back, of course, but I was rather sad. Because, yes, I *can* make them, but... <br/>
<p><em>Know-it-all - As an OM you're expected to know everything, but do you? Not much is known about the OM support tools, do you use the YPPedia much? How often do the new OMs come running for help? (Feel free to name names :P)</em><br/>
<p>I don't nearly know everything. I use both the YPPedia and our own documentation to check answers, and also refer to colleagues or developers if I want to check something or if I can't find an answer. New OMs are told to run for help - and that's a good good thing. Not one OM, no matter how long they've been doing this, has all the answers. As far as I'm concerned, I'd much rather honestly say that I'm not sure about an answer than pretend I know. <br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>:<br/>
<p>Domokun says, "As for me? I play 4 different musical instruments."<br/>
<p>We say: Why is there no Y!PP BIg Band?</p>
<p><h2>Sweetiepiepi (Midnight)</h2><br/>
<p><em>Knowing me: <br/>
<p>What 'inside information'/thing unknown to the playerbase were you most surprised to learn after you started on the job?</em><br/>
<p>The true identity of Ramirojr.<br/>
<p><em>Apart from the obvious scamming, what one thing do you wish players would never do?</em><br/>
<p>Call me "hun".<br/>
<p><em>What was the craziest dream you ever had?</em><br/>
<p>I'm not a good person to ask that question. I dream a LOT, and I seem to remember them all. Asking me for a craziest dream would require a lot of data analysis. Instead, I'm going to go for "first dream that popped into my head when reading this question", and hope that will do you. Well, I'm a wench in a Tudor castle, and in between serving bread and small beer to the nobles, I have to try to solve equations in the tower. There's a gentleman who I think might like me, and I'm a bit excited about that, because he's really sweet and kind, and obviously that would give me much more money than I have at the moment, but I know I can't do anything about that relationship until I've solved these equations. I've never been comfortable working things out from first principles, and it's all very difficult, and I can't find a pencil anywhere. Also, every time I go up the spiral stairs in the tower, they seem to get narrower so that I'm scared that I won't be able to turn and come down again.<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: <br/>
<p>Sweetiepiepi says "After going to Space Camp as a kid, I now work for a space and technology company. But they haven't sent me into space yet."</p>
<p><h2>Castawayjoe (Midnight)</h2><br/>
<p><em>Knowing me:<br/>
<p>If you were stranded on a desert island, would you eat your shoe or your watchband first, and why? Pick one or the other.</em><br/>
<p>I would eat my shoe, because I don't wear a watch. <br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: <br/>
<p>Castawayjoe says "I like to spin poi in my spare time (though not fire ones)".<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me: <br/>
<p>Who comes up with the Y!PP error messages? You know, like 'talking to oneself is a sign of impending insanity'. Although personally I could name several players who have surpassed the 'impending' stage completely.</em><br/>
<p>Historically, those have been created by various developers. They're twisted people, srsly. Occasionally, there is some OM input, but not as a rule.<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>:<br/>
<p>Castawayjoe is a twin.</p>
<p><h2>Hera</h2><br/>
<p><em>Knowing me: <br/>
<p>How were you first introduced to Puzzle Pirates?</em><br/>
<p>A colleague passed on a link saying that the game was about to go into Beta testing. I liked the look of it, and applied for an account (account creation wasn't immediate - you had to fill in the information and then wait for another email with further information in. I was so excited when the email came through and I could play the game - and I was immediately and irrevocably hooked.<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: <br/>
<p>Hera says "Spiders make me curl up in terror."</p>
<p><h2>Tomrizzo (Hunter)</h2><br/>
<p><em>Knowing me: <br/>
<p>Do you ever take response action as an Oceanmaster that contradicts your personal beliefs? (For example, have to ban a long-time hearty or reject custom vessel rename you actually find witty but against policy)</em><br/>
<p>I've done both of those things, but I wouldn't say that either were against my personal beliefs - against my personal comfort, perhaps! I have also applied rules or policy that I personally feel uncomfortable with. I'll take part in a debate or discussion about it, but if it's current policy, I'll try to apply it whatever my personal feelings on the issue.<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: <br/>
<p>Tomrizzo says "I'm almost nearly obsessed with learning in's and out's of the game. I constantly read threads and the YPPedia which dive deeper into player's discussion of game mechanics. I feel there's so many greater details to the puzzles then what the in-game "tips" offer."</p>
<p><h2>Carsomyr</h2><br/>
<p><em>Knowing me: <br/>
<p>What's the best Halloween costume you've ever worn (if you celebrate it), and which one have you seen that you liked the best?</em><br/>
<p>I can't say I celebrate Halloween, but it's something that goes on around me! I don't think I have a favorite for myself. I made a good mummy costume for someone else, though! My favorite one on someone else was a very good Frank N Furter costume on a work colleague!<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: <br/>
<p>Carsomyr says: "I'm all brave-like and say horror stories don't scare me. But secretly, after I read one, I can't get to sleep at night."</p>
<p><h2>Taelac</h2><br/>
<p><em>When you were a wee godling, what did you want to be when you grew up?</em><br/>
<p>Knowing me</em>: <br/>
<p>I wanted to be a children's doctor.<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: <br/>
<p>Taelac says "I wanted to be a zookeeper, but am going to be a librarian, which I'm finding to be very like keeping track of wild animals, only with more books."</p>
<p><h2>PadmeMaster (Viridian)</h2><br/>
<p><em>Knowing me: <br/>
<p>Do you know what the trigger is for the jinxed idol trophy?</em><br/>
<p>Yes. <br/>
<p><em>Which entry in Karaoke Kapers did you find funniest/coolest?</em><br/>
<p>It's really difficult to pick one entry out, because there are some very funny and cool entries in both contests that have been held. From the latest one, the ones that I particularly remember as being funny were Tamsin's "We didn't start the tarting" that was entered in the lyrics-only category, and Yesterday's "You're a keen one, Modest Tench", which was a very funny performance. Oh, wait - what am I talking about? Hands-down funniest ever karaoke entry was Irishlad's entry. Tragically, the demise of the karaoke section on that site has removed that entry from public access, but it reduced me to helpless laughter. <br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>:<br/>
<p>Padememaster says "Two things about me: I have a short attention span and have only played one year (and two weeks)" (that was in November, so presumably one year and five months now!"</p>
<p><h2>Dchow (Midnight)</h2><br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>:<br/>
<p><em>Why is Dchow so awesome?</em><br/>
<p>Perfectly silly question. Why is the sun so bright? Why is rain wet? It's just how he is! That won't do? Ok. Dchow is awesome because he treats me like I'm a human being, and doesn't laugh at my accent. <br/>
<p><em>Knowing you: </em><br/>
<p>Dchow says "My name is David."</p>
<p><h2>The Interrogation Of Apple Bunny</h2><br/>
<p>in which Bisquick (Midnight) asks many questions but totally redeems that by answering them all too.<br/>
<p>What was that first choice OM name anyway? (nag nag nag)<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: Dionysus<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: "My first choice is Cybele. I named my first rabbit that <img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/images/smileys/smile.gif" class="smiley" alt=":)" title=":)" />"</p>
<p><p>And that first favorite joke? (more nagging)<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: Please don't hate me. No, really, I was actually laughing just typing this in. I think I heard this first from another pirate. That's my only defense.<br/>
<p> Q: Why is the alligator so ornery?<br/>
<p> A: Because of its enlarged medulla oblongata. <br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: A man walks into a bar and says ouch. :P</p>
<p><p>How extensive is your experience playing the flute and handbells?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: I only got a flute when I was 17, but have taken it to quite a high level since then. Handbells I rang for 9 years, although I only play at occasional concerts now, because I stopped being able to go to the rehearsals. I've played piano and recorders since I was a child, and I've also perpetrated cello, violin and guitar over the years. I'm also really good on the beer bottles, as you may have heard. The instrument I'd most like to play but don't is the harp - I've always felt that I would take naturally to the harp, although I have no evidence to support this instinct!<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: "I started clarinet in the sixth grade, bassoon in the eighth. Currently romping around with clarinet in college marching band and playing both for a National Guard band."</p>
<p><p>What is the strangest present you have given someone?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: I took a lump of wood to a pirate friend as a birthday present, labelled "One unit of wood". We set fire to it outside that night, and sat around talking (and there may have been rum involved) - it's a happy memory. The following year, she sent me a coconut. <br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: "Homemade capes for my boyfriend and his family. *nods* And no, they aren't a family of super heros."</p>
<p><p>How much of the world have you seen?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: Canada, 9 U.S. States, China, several countries in Europe, somewhere in the Indian Ocean, a couple of countries in North Africa.<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: "I'm at seven U.S. states, almost another state, sort of two more states, and Canada. Not that interesting except maybe Hawaii <img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/images/smileys/wink.gif" class="smiley" alt=";)" title=";)" />"</p>
<p><p>And what do you want to see?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: New Zealand, Madagascar, Colorado, Iceland<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: Europe</p>
<p><p>If Y!PP's Greatest Hits were to open up right now for Ringers, what event would you enter with?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: Dead Letter Office<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: Technically I'm not a Ringer so I can't answer this. That aside, probably one of the OM doll events</p>
<p><p>So the favorite book question was difficult to answer. But what about a favorite fiction character?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: duh, Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. I lurrrrrve him.<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: Momiji from Fruits Basket</p>
<p><p>Did you have a childhood dream and what was it (the definition of child being whatever you feel it should be?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: I knew even at the time that it wasn't going to happen, but Arthur C Clarke made me want to be a marine biologist, specializing in dolphins. <br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: First grade: orca whale trainer</p>
<p><p>And the most important of all: What do you do with a B.A. in English?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: I'm not sure what I'd do with one - mine could scarcely be more different. Perhaps I would be someone who 'translates' complex writing into plain speech. Or... book reviewer? Yes, I'd do that. <br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: Write awesome musicals, of course. :P</p>
<p><p>Here, have this bottle. What's in it?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: Diet coke, I would think.<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: Looks like sunscreen. *peers* How helpful.</p>
<p><p>How about that big election that happened recently; who'd you vote for?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me: </em>Ored<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you: </em>Ored</p>
<p><p>What, if anything, will send you running away screaming at the top of your lungs?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: television programs about cars<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: Gilderoy Lockhart</p>
<p><p>Do you sleep with any stuffed animals?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: On my bed at the moment are: a purple microwaveable teddy bear, a dinosaur named Talulah and Countrytheta's Apollo doll!<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: A teddy bear named Dean.</p>
<p><p>What kind of dessert do you like, if not ice cream?<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: I like fruits, yoghurts, panna cotta, and actually, creme brulee can be nice!<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: creme brulee</p>
<p><p>Weapon of choice? (okay, so it's probably the bow and arrow, but what about arrow of choice then? :P)<br/>
<p><em>Knowing me</em>: weapon of choice: trebuchet. arrow of choice: Captain Jack Sp-Arrow<br/>
<p><em>Knowing you</em>: a ladle.</p>
<p><h2>Knowing me some more</h2><br/>
<p>I was interested at the questions I *didn't* receive for this. Everyone who asked a question kept away from some of the more personal or contentious questions that I was half-expecting to receive and even half-prepared to answer! "What's the name of my non-OM pirate?", "Where do I live?", "How old am I?", "Am I single?", "Have I made out with any other OMs?", "Who's the cutest OM in real life?" - these are questions I get asked fairly often in the game, and I was expecting them to arrive in some form when providing an open opportunity for questions! However, you all behaved yourselves, so I didn't have to decide which to answer and which not to!<br/>
<p><br/>
<p>Thank you to everyone for their questions!</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/j_is_for_jumbleJ is for... JumbleApollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/j_is_for_jumble
Thu, 9 Oct 2008 16:08:33 -0700Alphabeticity
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/Apollo-J.jpg" /><br/>
The tenth in the alphabetical series. This post provides a jumble of J entries, comprising Just Joking, Jolly Roger, Jinxed Idol, Jolyma and Jerze.</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/Apollo-J.jpg" /></p>
<p><h2>J is for... Just Joking!</h2><br/>
<p>I clearly did far too good a job of parodying an article of serious information in my "I is for... Ippolito" blog post. Several of my bits of serious misinformation were taken as truth, and continue to cause discussion. I had hoped that my final descent into absurdity in that article would be sufficient indication that the rest of it should be read with not just a pinch, but perhaps a full tun, of salt! So, dear readers, in case Artemis's posted assurance is not enough, I'd like to confirm that the suggestion that the ippolito might age and disappear is as much a fabrication as the statement that every ippolito found is female and that the ippolito always goes all-in pre-flop. I'm sorry if my nonsense caused any distress, and I hope that it caused at least some of you some amusement!</p>
<p><h2>J is for... Jolly Roger</h2><br/>
<p>Any of you live in Seattle? Do you know the <a href="http://maritimebrewery.ypguides.net/page/nun7/Jolly_Roger_Taproom.html">Jolly Roger Tap Room</a>? I don't think a week can go past without some would-be pirate bouncing in and pointing at things with joy, like a mildly deranged building surveyor (Look! The floor! The ceiling! The walls!). Anyway, the reason I was mentioning it was to point you towards the entertainingly piratey menu, and to tell you my favorite menu item there - the Jolly Roger Planks. They're fries, basically, but such a cool name! </p>
<p><h2>J is for... Jolyma</h2><br/>
<p>I was delivering a gift to Jolyma, and I was invited to stay on for a sea monster hunt. The ship sank, and back on the island, I opened my bludgeons section to see what colors my fish was. But I didn't have a fish; I had an eye patch. Jolyma poked my eye out! I think it was in "B is for... Boomy" that I said that I'd probably hop briefly onto a ship as Sun or Apollo and end up with an injury while other pirates sink a hundred times without getting one; that then it wouldn't fit my image of them, so I'd probably be really ungrateful and get it healed. Well, I haven't healed it. Little though I puzzle on that character, Apollo got the injury, and wants to keep it. Viridian has the only half-blind Apollo!</p>
<p><h2>J is for... Jinxed Idol</h2><br/>
<p>Not content with an eye patch, I also earned a Jinxed Idol. No comment.</p>
<p><h2>J is for... Jerze</h2><br/>
<p>I couldn't pass the letter J without mentioning Jerze; what can I say about her? She was a lovely, bright, creative, warm, wise and wonderful pirate. She was fun to talk to, and fun to play with. She also produced some wonderful creative contest entries, which made her a very frequent prizewinner. Jerze had sooooo many shacks. When I first left a trinket case and trinket prize in her shack, I had no idea how many she had - it was just the first home of hers that I reached. Looking for her prize, she checked a number of homes before contacting me for help - I told her where it was, and she found it. After that, she got used to whisking off to that relative backwater to hunt down her contest prizes. It was slightly sad when we got the ability to transfer prizes straight to pirates; although it's quicker and more reliable, I lost the fun of leaving gifts in people's homes, and of occasionally finding evidence that they'd prepared for my visits. I've found rum ready for me, a sofa in case I was tired, cutely named pets, messages in the house news, gifts for me to collect when I dropped off the prize... I loved those moments so much! Jerze had many trinkets - she had a very impressive collection of flowers and dolls, for example! Pillaging Picasso, Dead Letter Office, U Giv Doll, avatars, naming contests, writing contests, art contests, craft contests... Jerze was also a great Doodler, which was a sure way into my heart. In the first year of the December Daily Doodles, I got permission to award a black/black feather trinket, as a feather from Crow (my familiar), and Jerze won it! Feylind produced a beautiful <a href="http://www.elfie.org/~evmiller/">summary</a> of Jerze's artwork and I'm sure that many of us have had a lot of pleasure seeing her work. We'll miss her; she's left a bright and happy legacy behind her.</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/i_is_for_ippolitoI is for... IppolitoApollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/i_is_for_ippolito
Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700Alphabeticity
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-I.png" /></p>
<p>The ninth in the alphabetical series from the GuildCafe blog. This post provides a little background information about the ippolito (seahorse) familiar.</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-I.png" /></p>
<p><h2>The Ippolito <em>(hippocampus triadactylidia)</em></h2></p>
<p><h3>Discovery and mythology</h3></p>
<p>The ippolito (Italian form of the Greek Hippolytos, a compound name composed of the elements hippos (a horse) and lyein (to loosen, to free), hence "to release horses") is a fish of the genus <em>hippocampus</em>. </p>
<p>Although rumored sightings of the ippolito have been recorded by ocean explorers for some time, the first verified find was as recent as early 2008. This specimen was found at an outpost of Atlantis, and indeed, those outposts have to date proven to be the only known breeding grounds for these beautiful and unusual creatures. A great mythology has grown around the ippolito, including the legend that each ippolito is the reincarnation of a brave Atlantean who died in defense of their home. More recent myths also abound; the claim that wearing an ippolito makes your swordfighting and rumble 3% less effective, but makes drinking and bilging 5% more effective, is probably not true.</p>
<p><h3>Appearance</h3></p>
<p>In appearance and size, it is similar to the <em>hippocampus ingens</em>, although with a somewhat fuller body. The outer edge of the ippolito's tail has patches of dense bristly hooks, a little like velcro. This enables it to attach itself to surfaces and maintain its balance. Many seahorses take on bright colors in certain situations; the ippolito maintains its brighter hues at all times, and has been seen in colors ranging from aqua through to a dark blue. There is speculation that the colors change to duller brown and grey tones when they perceive themselves to be unobserved. Rigorous research to establish the veracity of this claim has been undertaken, but to date no peer-reviewed study has provided definitive data. Nevertheless, there is substantial anecdotal evidence for this theory (albeit evidence provided with a generous side order of rum) which persists despite the attempts of the wider scientific community to disprove the claims.</p>
<p><h3>Habitat</h3></p>
<p>The ippolito has so far only been spotted around the ruins of various Atlantean outposts. The specimens recovered have been found in chests hauled up from wrecks in those outposts. It was originally believed that the ippolito found in this way had become trapped inadvertently in the chest. However, animal behavioral specialists suggest that the willingness of the ippolito to reside in dark spaces such as wardrobes indicates that the chest may have been intentionally chosen as a home – an example of submarine urbanization, perhaps.</p>
<p><h3>Food</h3></p>
<p>The ippolito has a surprisingly diverse diet. In addition to foods considered normal for the species, such as brine shrimp, the ippolito has been seen to enjoy many forms of meat, fruit and baked goods. </p>
<p><h3>Behaviors</h3></p>
<p>Communication consists primarily of fin and tail movements. In addition, the ippolito makes a high squeaking sound in water that sounds like a hooting whistle in the air. The ippolito only winks, never blinks. In this way, there is always one eye open.</p>
<p>As with other seahorses, the male ippolito carries the young of the species. Every ippolito found so far is female. The reason for this is not clear, although it is thought that the males may keep to narrower and more secluded territories. The finders of ippolitos have given them male and female names despite this, many of them unaware of the gender of their new friends. The ippolitos themselves find this highly amusing, and take their new titles in good humor. Their own names for one another, in any case, are kinetically expressed rather than verbally. </p>
<p>Although a rare and retiring creature, the ippolito has shown surprising loyalty to any brave pirate who finds her, and can sometimes be seen on the shoulder of the lucky pirate with whom she has bonded, aided by the velcro-like patches on her tail.</p>
<p>Divers report that unlike many creatures, the ippolito does age, and once it reaches a certain age (as yet there is insufficient data to be exact), it will head into deep water and attach itself to the underside of a rock to die. </p>
<p>The ippolito always goes all-in pre-flop.</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/h_is_for_humpingH is for... HumpingApollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/h_is_for_humping
Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700Alphabeticity
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-H.PNG" /><br/>
The eighth in the alphabetical series from the GuildCafe blog. This post investigates the incidence of humping on the production oceans.</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-H.PNG" /> </p>
<p>Good morning, boys and girls! Today's blog post concerns the incidence of humping on the production oceans. </p>
<p>Chat logs from twenty visits to each of Cobalt, Midnight, Hunter, Opal, Sage and Viridian oceans were analyzed for the occurrence of humping. Visits were made by three pirates: Apollo, Sun and Zeus. The pirate logged in was recorded along with the ocean and evidence of humping activity. </p>
<p>Analysis of Humpitude by Ocean indicated that Midnight was most likely to hump (mean 0.55), followed by Viridian (0.40), Sage (0.20), Cobalt (0.10), Hunter (0.05) and Opal (0.00). Incidence of humping was not signficantly different between Midnight and Viridian (p=0.344). However, incidence of humping was significantly higher on Midnight and Viridian than on Sage, Cobalt, Hunter and Opal (p<0.05 in all cases). </p>
<p>Analysis by Pirate indicated that Pirate was a confounding variable in the analysis, with Apollo significantly more likely to be humped than either his father or his sunny alter ego (F=23.719, p<0.001); the variable Pirate was therefore included as a covariate in further analysis.</p>
<p>Comparison of means by Ocean and Pirate showed that Apollo was humped on all oceans but Opal, with Midnight being the most frequent (0.89). Sun was humped on Midnight, Sage and Viridian, while Zeus was only humpitudinally advantaged on Midnight and Viridian. A univariate analysis of variance on dependent variable Humpitude indicated that both Ocean (df(5), F=4.459, p<0.001) and the covariate Pirate (df(2), F=12.364, p<0.001) were significant in the prediction of Humpitude. The interaction Ocean x Pirate was not significant (p=0.734), and a parsimonious model excluding this interaction is recommended. Adjusted R Squared was equal to 0.371, indicating that 37.1% of the variance on the dependent variable Humpitude could be explained by the two variables Ocean and Pirate. Analysis of residuals continues. <br/>
<p style="font-size: 9px">Half of this analysis was carried out in SAS brand statistical analysis package, and half was carried out in Matlab brand statistical analysis package. Matlab performed the analysis 25% faster, and removed more stubborn stains.</p><br/>
Recommendations for further research: </p>
<p>1. Times of chat logs were noted, and analysis by game time may also yield interesting information. <br/>
2. The main research question outstanding is to discover what exactly is meant by humping. The researcher would feel much better if he knew whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, and proposes some qualitative research and analysis to investigate the phenomenon of Humpitude in more detail, using focus groups and in-depth interviews, followed by textual analysis and Critical Incidents Techniques on the resulting transcripts.<br/>
3. The parallel research project on licking is currently delayed, as the researcher's stats packages asploded when he tried to import the subscription ocean lickage data.<br/>
4. Now wash your hands. </p>
<p>H is also for... hats, hugs and heroes, all of which were part-drafted in my H for head. H for however, H for humping just won out in the end!</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/g_is_for_genderG is for... GenderApollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/g_is_for_gender
Sat, 5 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700Alphabeticity
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-G.PNG" /> <br/>
The seventh in the alphabetical series from the GuildCafe blog. This post deals with the issue of gender in online games.</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-G.PNG" /> <br/>
I find gender in online games to be both interesting and irrelevant. In Y!PP, our little noseless pirates, both boys and girls, are cute and whimsical. They come in a range of skin and hair tones. The boys get a alarming selection of facial hair. The girls get an unalarming selection of hair styles. There's a range of clothes for both males and females. With the choices available to us, we actually manage to create quite a diverse population, given that our starting point is so uniform. Whether it's by our choice of skin tone, hair color and style, our names, the clothing we wear, or the injuries we collect, our little figures come to express something about us, or at least about the pirate we're roleplaying.</p>
<p>There have been a few threads on the forum about why players choose to play male or female alts, and whether they are treated differently as a result. More interesting to me is whether they act differently as a result. In a nearly-buried previous life, I played tabletop roleplaying games. (Yes, Cassis. I know.) Mostly I liked the dice and painting the miniatures, but that's beside the point. Almost all my characters were male. Awful good paladins, stocky dwarven fighter/clerics, a couple of belligerently stupid fighters and the like. However, I did have a couple of female characters over the years. One was a druid, and one was a magic user. While some of the difference can be explained by the difference in character class, I definitely played differently with the female characters, and their position in the party was altered as a result. Bluntly, I think they were insipid, and I probably did great disservice to the female world in my roleplaying! Given that I'm the same player, why would the gender of the little painted metal figure on the table have such an impact? With one character, I'd be blithely stomping through a dungeon and hitting anything that moved. With another, I'd be trying to learn a musical instrument and encouraging the party to take part in team-building initiatives. I know which I enjoyed more. Enough flower arranging, dudes, BRING MOAR SMASHY!</p>
<p>From what I've seen, most players choose their own gender for their main character. Many players, of course, have pirates of both genders. Given the differences in clothes and portrait poses, how could you experience the full richness of the game if you didn't?! Some players have main characters of the opposite gender, though. There were a couple of posts by people who had created pirates of both genders, but over time had begun to use one more than the other, and it happened to be the one of the opposite gender. Others started off deliberately in that way. I remember hearing a couple of real-life girls explaining that they created male pirates because they didn't want to have male players hitting on them all the time, as had happened in other games they played. I have occasionally done a double-take at meet and parrrty pictures, where a sweet, demure, pink-and-white-clad girl pirate turns out to be played by a very down-to-earth man; the bushy-bearded scourge of the seas is played by a mischievous pixie of a girl; the grizzled old salt is only just of minimum playing age. </p>
<p>And, you know what? It's all good. I think that's where the "irrelevant" bit from my first sentence comes in. I will take your pirate at face value, and I don't much mind what your background is, or how similar you are in real life. If I get on well with you, I'll get on well with you male or female. The really important thing to remember is that WE HAVE NO NOSES.</p>
<p>Was there a point to this seriously rambling blog post? Well, sort of. I thought perhaps that I would mention that while Apollo is a very content BRING MOAR SMASHY male pirate; I am female.</p>
<p><3</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/f_is_for_favoritesF is for... FavoritesApollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/f_is_for_favorites
Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800Alphabeticity
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-F.png" /><br/>
The sixth post in the alphabetical series from the GuildCafe blog. This post describes some of my favorite things.</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-F.png" /><br/>
Thank you to Cassis, Shannal, Bisquick, Tilinka, Ynahteb and others for these questions! Here are some of my Favorite Things.</p>
<p><strong>Favorite timewasters</strong>: various wonderfully shallow games from Yahoo. <br/>
<strong>Favorite Doodle</strong>: very hard to choose. In terms of giggles, the Meaning of Liff was very satisfying. I really enjoyed Moving Pictures, and the music album version from the year before. loldoodlz was great. <br/>
<strong>Favorite music</strong>: Favorite music to answer petitions to is Mozart's Requiem. lacrimosa dies illa indeed. Favorite music to doodle to - that would depend what kind of doodle it was. If I'm writing, then something instrumental and fairly unobtrusive - perhaps some Faure or some more Mozart. If I'm drawing or painting, something more upbeat - REM, Grieg, Throwing Muses. If I'm writing music - no other music! Does that cover all Doodle types? Oh, maybe riddles. For riddles... no, I'd think about those in bed with whatever music is in my head at the time!<br/>
<strong>Favorite guilty pleasure</strong>: sea monster hunting. Oh, and diet cherry coke.<br/>
<strong>Favorite mode of transportation</strong>: Roller coaster.<br/>
<strong>Favorite game which isn't Puzzle Pirates</strong>: Progress Quest. ;) (I'm assuming you mean computer game)<br/>
<strong>Favorite Pen</strong>: good question! I love pens. I enjoy calligraphy, and probably my favorite pen overall is a scroll nib pen - it has a double nib, producing one thicker and one thinner line. <br/>
<strong>Favorite myth involving Apollo</strong>: I like the fact that I started the Olympic Games. More or less. >.<<br/>
<strong>Favorite flavor of ice cream</strong>: I don't have one. I hardly eat it.<br/>
<strong>Favorite ship rename</strong>: Tarrlox on Sage owns the Misspelt Bhote. I love standard renames - I'm sure there are lots of lovely custom renames, but making a standard rename work is a great joy to me. Having said that, I'm very fond of my own Salmon of Doubt!<br/>
<strong>Favorite ocean</strong>: there are bright spots on every ocean, but my favorite is Sage. I loved it from the first day it opened. And I wear a hare hare yukai outfit there, of course. It's pleasantly breezy.<br/>
<strong>Favorite academic subject</strong>: looking back, probably Latin.<br/>
<strong>Favorite in-game setting</strong>: I'm not sure it's what you meant, but I like banks and inns best!<br/>
<strong>Favorite fruit</strong>: raspberries<br/>
<strong>Favorite children's show</strong>: can I count Invader Zim as a children's show?<br/>
<strong>Favorite joke</strong>: my favorite two jokes are ones that most people don't find at all funny. I'm generally lying helpless with tears of laughter rolling down my face while the listeners stare at me, somewhat disapproving and allwhat bemused. This reaction just makes it funnier for me. I'll try you out with my third favorite joke, though: <br/>
<em>Two math professors are having dinner. The first is bemoaning the fact that the average person knows very little about basic mathemathics. The second one disagrees, and argues that most people can cope with a reasonable amount of math. <br/>
The first mathematician goes off to the washroom, and in his absence the second calls over the waitress.<br/>
He tells her that in a few minutes, after his friend has returned, he will call her over and ask her a question. All she has to do is answer one third x cubed.<br/>
She repeats "one thir -- dex cue"? He repeats "one third x cubed".<br/>
"One thir dex cuebd"? <br/>
"Yes, that's right", he says. So she agrees, and goes off mumbling to herself, "one thir dex cuebd...".<br/>
The first professor returns and the second proposes a bet to prove his point, that most people do know something about basic math. He says that he will ask the blonde waitress an integral. His colleague agrees. So they call the waitress over, and he asks her "What is the integral of x squared"?<br/>
The waitress says "One third x cubed", and walks away from the table, turning back over her shoulder to add "plus a constant".</em><br/>
<strong>Favorite cheesy pick-up line</strong>: how're YOU doin'? (Joey style)<br/>
<strong>Favorite made-up word</strong>: obstroperous<br/>
<strong>Favorite board game</strong>: Scrabble<br/>
<strong>Favorite book/author</strong>: I read a lot. Too many to choose from. I need to mention Douglas Adams, though, both for his fiction and for "Last Chance To See".<br/>
<strong>Favorite duty puzzle</strong>: probably bilging. <br/>
<strong>Favorite crafting puzzle</strong>: blacksmithing.<br/>
<strong>Favorite muppet</strong>: Zoot. <br/>
<strong>Favorite event I've run</strong>: It's difficult to narrow down to one, but I have to go for the Easter Eggs. This is partly because of the beautiful eggs that result, but mostly because of the community spirit that goes into the contest. To see everyone helping other entrants to get their eggs rendered and tested, and helping with YPPedia and providing constructive feedback - I love it. I think it shows everything that's best about the community. And then, because it really is too difficult to mention only one, I'm going to say that I just loved judging the karaoke parody event, and that Dead Letter Office made me laugh out loud more often than any other event.<br/>
<strong>Favorite hat</strong>: easy! Yellow/yellow musketeer hat - the choice of champions!<br/>
<strong>Favorite coffee</strong>: I guess a latte, but I rarely drink coffee.<br/>
<strong>Favorite fondle</strong>: *grins* The small of the back is a fondley kind of place.<br/>
<strong>Favorite fantasy</strong>: winning the lotto.<br/>
<strong>Favorite fondu</strong>: cheese</p>
<p>:D</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/e_is_for_emailE is for... EmailApollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/e_is_for_email
Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800Alphabeticity
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-E.PNG" /> </p>
<p>The fifth in the alphabetical series from the GuildCafe blog. This post discusses the wonderful world of email.</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-E.PNG" /> </p>
<p>I wanted to share with you a letter I penned recently on the subject of Email.</p>
<p><em>Dear Mr Email, </p>
<p>I wanted to thank you for the excellent level of service you have been providing me with over the last few months. I have heard several of your customers complaining about unwanted or inappropriate emails arriving, but I must say, I have always been delighted with the quality and variety of the correspondence sent to me. </p>
<p>The offers I receive seem so well-suited to my situation. I perceive that you take great care in the selection of emails for me, and the time you must put into this endeavor is impressive, given that I often receive over one hundred emails in a day. I rarely have time to read more than the subject lines, as I find my life too busy to respond to your emails, but nonetheless, I am delighted to know that should time and energy allow, I have a formidable source of positive and enriching activities and items to select from.</p>
<p>So ignore the ungrateful complainants - I, for one, am a highly satisfied customer, and I wish you the best of success in your future business. </p>
<p>Yours sincerely, </p>
<p>Apollo, a happy customer, Mount Olympus</em></p>
<p>You see, these lovely people really have been sending me some splendid messages. The following are just a selection of today’s subject lines. As mentioned above, I don’t have time to read the content, but I file them all carefully – it’s nice to know that they’re there if I want to read them later. </p>
<p>“Watch your thing getting bigger day by day”<br/>
This is about my trust fund, I think. </p>
<p>“Some more inches for your enjoyment”<br/>
Well, this is going to be about rulers, of course. I actually have quite an interesting collection of rulers, as it happens. I’ve kept all of mine (mostly broken) from my school years.</p>
<p>“Your friends will envy your new male package”<br/>
They certainly will. I've just upgraded Outlook, and they're very impressed with its capabilities! I had to laugh at this one – do you see the typo? “male” instead of “mail”. Even Mr Email makes mistakes sometimes!</p>
<p>“All natural growth of your Willy”<br/>
Do you know, this one actually baffles me. I wondered if it was about my new puppy, who is certainly growing quite quickly, but her name is Delilah.</p>
<p>“Venture to become a super-lover in 2008”<br/>
This is great. I love to love. Love makes the world go round. I think there is a great deal of worthwhile information in these spiritual self-help publications.</p>
<p>“She will always be hungry for your new big sausage.”<br/>
Delilah again. She just loves that salami.</p>
<p>“Turn your soldier boy into a great General”<br/>
That shows more than superficial care, I think. They’re genuinely interested in my family’s careers and advancement. I appreciate that. I really do. I’ve never felt the urge personally to join the army, but it’s warming to know that if I did, there are people with information and support to help me progress to maximize my potential.</p>
<p>“Quality classic ti--"<br/>
Wait. This isn’t right. I don’t believe it!</p>
<p><em>Dear Mr Email, </p>
<p>I was horrified today to receive filth such as I have never imagined. You sent an email with a subject line offering a "quality classic timepiece" and I found this offensive object shortly after lunch while browsing my Inbox. I did not read the content. I did not need to. A piece with time? Quality? Classic? If you don't think I'm aware that this is some kind of flimsy euphemism for a high-class escort, you must believe me to be naive indeed. I deleted without reading, but I can only imagine the appalling pornography inevitably contained in the body of the email. After years of excellent service, you have let me down horribly. I feel sickened, dirty and cheated. To think that just recently I supported your hard work and integrity to naysayers. Sir, you have lost a previously loyal and satisfied customer. I will be canceling my subscription to your email service immediately. For the sake of your future customers, may I suggest that you restrict your email offerings to those that lie within the normal bounds of decency and wholesomeness. Kindly do not contact me again.</p>
<p>Yours sincerely, </p>
<p>Apollo, disgusted, of Mount Olympus</em></p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/d_is_for_dollsD is for... DollsApollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/d_is_for_dolls
Mon, 21 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800Alphabeticity
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-D.PNG" /> </p>
<p>The fourth in the alphabetical series from the GuildCafe blog. This entry deals with the delicious topic of dolls!</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-D.PNG" /> <br/>
<h2><strong>The Dolls They Come</strong></h2></p>
<p>I've wanted to say for a while how delighted I was to receive some of the dolls that were made during the "U Giv Doll" contest. They were sent into the office, and then carried lovingly to me by Developer Mail (well... he happened to be visiting close to me and thought he had room in one of his tentacles for a small care package!)</p>
<p>I have an exquisitely detailed sculpture from Jerze, a much-admired bowling pin doll from Francisgrace and Fairwindy, and a huggly soft doll from Countrytheta. They're absolutely lovely, and I have them on the side in my bedroom. It means such a lot, not just that people made these items, but that they took the time to send them in so that we could see them in person. </p>
<p>Last year, Scarymuffin and Princessj sent a lovely Christmas card with fruitcake sketches - I loved seeing the art, and the friendly message made me feel warm and wonderful. When I was at the office in November, Peanutswench had sent cookies down - not for me, but nonetheless they were delicious! [I sent her a message to come up at log-in that week saying "You have been awarded the (completely fictional) Cookie Cup." I have no idea if she saw the message - I hope she did, and I hope it totally confused her.] There's a set of shelves in the Three Rings office that has all kinds of player-sent goodies on it. Some show wild talent, others are funny, some are frankly a little scary. The whole concept of piratey items being sent to the office for us to enjoy is utterly awesome. I love that I'm part of a playerbase that is so active and generous and involved. </p>
<p><h2><strong>The Dolls They Go</strong></h2></p>
<p>I also love that we have OceanMaster dolls to give out to players. We were first told of the idea shortly after I became an OM, and I was very pleased. (It's possible that I bounced. Don't tell Bisquick.) We've all given out dolls in different ways and in different numbers. Most of the dolls I've given out have been as prizes in various contests, but there are more abstruse reasons. Featherfin made me laugh when I was new and out talking on the docks for the first time. Leif is just all-round splendiferous. Tarrlox made my year with a couple of the Best Renames In The World EVARRR along with a petition-writing style that would melt the heart of the sternest grammar teacher. I like having something personal that I can give out completely at my own discretion - for a very good reason, or for no reason at all! I'm still hoping for those Ringer Eggs as well! Then I can give out more. MOOOOOOOORE!!1!one!1!!!</p>
<p>I've asked a couple of times for Brigand King dolls - they'd be great! And what a perfect prize they'd make for BK-themed events, eh? Unfortunately, I think the work involved to create the dolls isn't really justified by Apollo wanting new shinies to hand out in a small number of events. Alas!</p>
<p><h2><strong>The Dolls They Are Not So Relevant To This Section</strong></h2></p>
<p>While I'm in a squishy and "zomg I love you all so much" kind of mood, I'm going to say how much I enjoy spending time with you all when I have spare time on the oceans. Whether I'm talking or taking challenges, whether I'm on as Apollo or Sun or Luckysun, it's always entertaining. Of the three, Luckysun is by far the hardest work, predictably. During December, each ocean got several different approaches to how I allocated fights. I tried "DND off, take first challenge", I tried fastest answers to trivia questions, I tried random numbers, I tried various hybrid methods, I tried having an away message demanding a particular tell, keeping a list and whisking to people one at a time... All but the last one caused complaints, because I just can't fight everyone, but the last one wasn't as sociable - much more businesslike - and I missed the chat around me while the fighting goes on! There's an understandable amount of whining when I say I have to leave, as often people have been waiting a while - but on the whole, players are lovely while Luckysun is on (except you two on Hunter. You know who you are). </p>
<p>Sun is often in-game delivering prizes or setting things up for events. Apollo is much more likely to be on-duty if he's in-game. Apollo and Sun both spend some time at the parlor games table, though, and even pillaging! One weekend, I tried to take Sun on a pillage on all oceans. On Midnight, I was hired, recognized and then pretty much left alone to puzzle, at least until I had to make a broadcast for an event at the end of the pillage! On Cobalt, I was hired, recognized, and then got a steady stream of tells about game issues (I had to put up an away message directing people to the on-duty OM for game questions and complaints!). On Viridian and Hunter, I was hired and not recognized, so just puzzled! On Sage... now, Sage was interesting. On Sage, I couldn't get hired. I applied to several crews, and none of them wanted me. I was clearly far too much of a n00b for the likes of them. ;) It would be even worse now, as my character was recreated since then, resetting my stats! I don't think I'll try to get onto an Atlantis trip on Sage just yet! Sage does, however, have some great players - fun, creative, intelligent, entertaining. (You also know who you are!) I've spent some very happy hours there!</p>
<p>In summary: dolls rock, you rock, igneous rock. </p>
<p>That's it - fluffiness over. Back to grrrr mean old Apollo!<br/>
:rofl:</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/sun_spotSun SpotApollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/sun_spot
Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:37:20 -0800OMbrella-ella-ellaA post for the Cask of Blog. This post answers questions asked by players, either in the blog forum or in interview questions drafted for a December Daily Doodles contest.<p>Ahoy! Between the <a href="http://forums.puzzlepirates.com/community/mvnforum/viewthread?p=1341837#1341837">Daily Doodles</a> and <a href="http://forums.puzzlepirates.com/community/mvnforum/listthreads?forum=44">Cask of Blog</a>, there were many questions asked, and I've picked some out today to provide random answers to. Did I say that out loud? I mean, I picked some random questions to provide completely accurate answers to.&nbsp; &nbsp;&gt;.&lt;&nbsp; &nbsp;Nobody noticed. Keep typing. Here they are!</p>
<p><strong>What do Doodles mean to you?</strong> <em>(TheRunt, Cobalt)</em><br />The Doodles are amazing. As a whole set of mini-contests they're fun anyway, and I'm always so impressed with the entries people produce for them. I love that people have embraced the event in the way that I envisaged it - that it's fun and a challenge and an opportunity to do new things, and that winning isn't the thing to obsess about. &quot;The Doodlers&quot; are like family, and seem an incredibly fun and nice group of people to spend time with.</p>
<p><strong>Where do you get the ideas for your contest? How long does it take you to come up with them?</strong> <em>(TheRunt, Cobalt)</em><br />Ideas for events tend to hit me with alarming frequency. I always have far more events in planning that I could ever have time to run. I have a particularly high incoming frequency of silly event ideas, some of which I've been desperate to run. I rely on Artemis to rein me in on some of the dafter ideas. She's generally right. ;)</p>
<p><strong>Do you volunteer to be a event host or did Cleaver force you?</strong> <em>(Sharkiez, Sage)</em><br />Cleaver forced me. With blacksmithing tongs.</p>
<p><strong>You have got six months to live, what will you do first?</strong> <em>(Casiopia, Cobalt)</em><br />Tell my family, and cancel next year's calendar order. </p>
<p><strong>Which is the last book you read?</strong><em> (Casiopia, Cobalt)</em><br />&quot;Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince&quot;. Again.</p>
<p><strong>Do you like all of your co-workers?</strong> <em>(Viconia, Viridian)</em><br />Yes. They're the best bunch of puny mortals I could ever wish to work with.</p>
<p><strong>There are naked statues of you on display all over the world, we have footage of you running around in a cape going 'whee!'... What has been the MOST embarassing thing to happen to Mighty Apollo?</strong> <em>(Albie, Sage)</em><br />In terms of Puzzle Pirates things, probably the most embarrassing was accidentally canceling a large tournament being run by Luigi. The cancel butan was so new it still had cellophane on, and instead of dismissing after looking at it... reader, I canceled it. </p>
<p><strong>What is your favorite color?</strong><em> (Delores, Sage)</em><br /><strong><span style="color: #ffff00;font-size: 1.2em;">YELLOW</span></strong></p>
<p><strong>Can I have a hug?</strong> <em>(Llamagirl, Hunter)</em><br />Sure. *hugs*</p>
<p><strong>What is 49+17?</strong> <em>(Sainter, Hunter)</em><br />66</p>
<p><strong>Do any of the Ringers have other secret talents?</strong> <em>(Domokun, Sage)</em><br />Among other things, Artemis and I both play flute and handbells. Although not at the same time. At least, we can both play at the same time, but I don't think either of us individually could manage to play flute and handbells at the same time. Just... not enough hands. Well, I can't. If it turns out that Artemis can, then I apologize profusely, and bow to her greater secret talent. Oh! And also, I'm surprisingly bendy. Does that count as a secret talent?</p>
<p><strong>In the office, do you call your fellow OMs by their real names, Greek God designations, or some cornucopia of the two resulting in really cute nicknames?</strong> <em>(Muffynz, Midnight. That's MUFFYNZ. On Midnight. M-U-F-F-Y-N-Z. Not Domokun in any way. That would be ludicrous. Muffmuffmuffynz, he's the man. *coughs*)</em><br />I'm not in the office, but I use the Greek god names. I am vaguely aware that there may be other names in use when they play Real Life 4.1 [TM], but it doesn't occur to me to use them. I'm always called &quot;Apollo&quot;. Actually, that's not true. I'm occasionally called &quot;Apollo&quot;, and sometimes &quot;Pollo&quot;, but most often I'm called &quot;Apple&quot;. Or, by one colleague, &quot;APLO&quot;.</p>
<p><strong>Who would win in a fight: pirates or ninjas?</strong> <em>(Capberry, Hunter)</em><br />Duh. Pirates would. Ninjas are just goth underachiever pirates, anyway.</p>
<p><strong>If you were stuck on a deserted island and could pick one...but only one...of your co-workers to be stuck with you, who would you pick and why?</strong> <em>(Cassis, Sage)</em><br />oh noez. Only one? Mmm. <br />With a twinge of regret for a couple of others (can I have them visit?), in the end I'd have to go for Artemis. She's fun and clever and lovely, and I can talk to her for ages. Most importantly, though, she's really good at making useful items out of junk. It's a critical skill on a deserted island. I'd be sitting around trying to organize the ants into some kind of impromptu sestina contest, and she'll have constructed a functional transmitter out of an old bandana, a couple of corset bones and an earring.</p>
<p>I think that's enough for one go. Thank you for the questions!</p>
<p>Apollo.</p>
http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/c_is_for_crudC is for... CrudApollohttp://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/entry/c_is_for_crud
Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700Alphabeticity
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-C.PNG" /> <br/>
Third from the alphabetical series from the Guildcafe blog. This is about a cerebral catastrophe.</p>
<p><img src="http://blog.puzzlepirates.com/apollo/resource/apollo-C.PNG" /> <br/>
C has me beat. C for Complete lack of inspiration.</p>
<p>I have worked through several possible topics for C, including my ideal set of Commandments for events, and my views on the highs and lows of Cobalt Ocean. In the end, both of those were discarded, along with a number of other (equally dull) subjects.</p>
<p>I suppose this one could be C for (stream of) Consciousness. </p>
<p>C could be for Clicking… nearly 23,000 times to transfer items from winning auction bidders…. C for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. If I do an item auction again, I’m going to ask people to transfer items to an expendable alt, so that I can just delete the alt and all items with it! But I didn’t, and the bid totals exceeded my expectation greatly! And despite the Clicking, I can’t help but be delighted by that!</p>
<p>C for Conch? I think the Atlantean Conch is one of the most captivating pieces of artwork that’s gone into the game ever – I really love it. As an aside, I considered putting up a tournament called “Bumper Sticker” on each ocean with a ribbon trinket inscribed with “My Other Trinket Is An Atlantean Conch”. However, I was persuaded that this might cause petition hell for the on-duty OMs with people asking if this meant that winning the tournament would get them a conch. It made me giggle for a good hour, though.</p>
<p>C for Caterpillar? Mmmm, caterpillar.</p>
<p>C for Closure? I have had a plan for D since the beginning of this blog, y’see, so I really needed to get C out of the way. Cwickly.</p>